Pakistan pair fail with appeals

The International Cricket Council have upheld the provisional suspensions of Pakistan pair Salman Butt and Mohammad Amir after dismissing their appeals at a hearing in Doha.

Test captain Butt and seamer Amir were suspended by the ICC along with Mohammad Asif pending the results of an investigation into spot-fixing allegations.

The claims against the trio - initially raised by a Sunday newspaper on Pakistan's summer tour of England - concerned the alleged bowling of no balls to order under the direction of Butt.

Asif had initially joined his team-mates in confirming his intention to appeal against his suspension but withdrew from the process earlier this month.

An ICC spokesman confirmed that the the independent Code of Conduct Commission chaired by Michael Beloff QC had dismissed the appeals of Butt and Amir.

It is almost two months since the spectre of corruption revisited Pakistan cricket, with News of the World reports surfacing during the fourth Test and leading to a Scotland Yard investigation.

Police confiscated the mobile phones of all three players as part of their own inquiries.

Pakistan High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan announced following a meeting with the trio on September 2 that they proclaimed their innocence, but following the Pakistan Cricket Board's refusal to impart their own sanctions the ICC swiftly moved to impose their own provisional suspension.

Butt, Asif and Amir must now await the results of the full ICC investigation and, if found guilty, would be facing the prospect of life bans.